Cid walked out onto the Highwind deck, where he knew Vincent liked to wander at night. He saw the dark man near the back, where the shadows met and hid him. "Hey Vince," he called out, glad to see the man react. "I wanna talk to you about some things."

Vincent nodded, and his crimson eyes focused solely on the pilot. He wondered what he had to say.

Walking up to him, Cid paused. //What if he doesn't feel the same way? It doesn't matter...After seeing what Lucrecia did by waiting to say anything, I can't do the same to him.// "Vince...I..." His blue eyes examined the taller man, admiring his beauty. //Why would he want me? It doesn't matter though...I have to tell him.// "Vince...I..want you to know...that I care for you..."

Seemingly unmoved by the words, Vincent continued to stare at him. //What? He cannot be serious. He must simply pity me, after seeing me break down to Lucrecia's spirit. But I am not weak, I do not need his pity. I do not want it either.// "Cid, I do not feel the same."

His words, spoken with such cold calmless, pierced through Cid's heart. "But...Vince..." //It's hopeless. He hates you now. You shouldn't have said anything....//

Famous last words
"I'm not ready yet"
"I won't be gone a minute"

"Cid, do not be upset." Vincent only half-heartedly tried to amend the situation. His own hurt did not let him see Cid's. "I am simply not interested in ANYONE. It's nothing personal."

The excuse only shattered what was left of Cid's heart, which he had handed to the dark man, his hope of returned feelings making him blind to this possibility.

Narrow is the road and too high a price to pay
When loneliness is such a sanctuary
Empty are the musings and wasted are the days
When you say you were only waiting

"Goodnight Cid." Vincent nodded courteously, then walked off, towards his room. The pilot only watched the retreating figure.

Once out of sight, the pilot dropped to his knees, a sob leaving him. //He didn't care at all...He wouldn't care if I died...Neither would I, now...// Weeping, he felt as if he could never rid himself of the pain he felt. The pain that only one man could heal, but did not want to.

And famous last words
"I'm not ready yet"
"I won't be gone a minute"
And I won't forget
Famous last words
If tomorrow never comes, will I ever know that I was in love?

Vincent sat down on his bed, and removed his cape. Tossing it without thinking, he wondered about what had transpired. //Why did he say that? He is not really the type of person that would do something so serious just because he felt sorry for someone.// The ex-Turk got up and walked to the mirror in the bathroom. He looked at his reflection, remembering the sincerity in Cid's voice. //He actually wanted...me?//

That I was in love
In love

Cid ran into his room, where he hastily started to write a note. It was short, and tear-stained by the time he finishd, but it was full of his feelings. Sealing it into an envelope with shaky hands, he addressed it to Vincent, then placed it on the table next to his bed. Pausing his actions, he picked up the picture frame he had there. It was of him and Vincent, smiling at the Gold Saucer.

Putting it back, and leaning the envelope on it, he got up and walked to the other corner of the room. He removed his gloves, then picked up his spear. The blade shone with a life all its own.

You say you heard every word, but I watched you turn away
You were only waiting

Vincent felt a strange coldness grip him. //What?// And then he realized just how much the kind-hearted pilot meant to him. But there was something urging him to hurry, telling him there was not much time. Without pausing to grab his cape again, he stepped out in the cold hallway, running towards Cid's room. He forced open the door, ready to apologize for his actions earlier, when he saw his beloved pilot bleeding to death on the floor. The mighty Venus Gospel lay by his side, it's blade covered in blood. Blood that had once flowed from Cid's wrists, but was now still.

And famous last words
"I'm not ready yet"
"I won't be gone a minute"
And I won't forget
Famous last words
If tomorrow never comes, will I ever know that I was in love?

Vincent held Cid's breathless body in his arms, his tears falling on the now pale skin. "Why Cid? I never got to tell you...that I felt the same for you..." He kissed the pilot's lips for the only time, and the last time. He had his chance, but it was snatched away from him. He would never be happy; not while his sins remained.